*Germans Qualify For KO Rounds First Time In Over 10 Years
*Ivorians Too Can Qualify And Achieve What Drogba, the Toures, Kalou Couldn’t
Les Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, brimming with confidence from their 1-0 defeat of Ecuador in their World Cup Group E first game, took an early lead against the German Machine on Saturday night (Nigeria time) and resorted to frustrating the favourites.
But then popped up Nigerian-German midfielder Felix Nmecha in the 94th minute.
His surname in Igbo, a Nigerian language, means “Finishing, Completion,” but on this occasion he did not finish the job.
Outstanding throughout the tough encounter, he was determined to make a huge difference –and did so.
As the game went into injury time of six added minutes, Nmecha slid a pinpoint pass to substitute Denis Undav, the Stuttgart forward, who had scored the equalizing goal in minute 68, and the latter wasted no time in, again, beating goalie Yahia Fofana –at the death.
And so for the first time in more than a decade, Germany will play in the World Cup knockout stages, having not reached this stage of the mundial since winning it in 2014.
Kudos must go to this set of Ivorians who are strongly bidding to achieve what eluded their great ‘forebears’, the likes of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure and Salomon Kalou –taking their country to the knockout stages of a World Cup.
With the German victory, their second consecutive one in this tournament, having earlier peppered Curacao 7-1 in their opening game, the Machine have now waltzed into the knockout stage with the maximum six points.
How The Match Went
The four-time winners endured a frustrating outing after going behind to a 30th-minute goal from Elephants captain Franck Kessie but Julian Nagelsmann turned to his bench in search of a response – and Undav delivered emphatically with a second-half double.
The forward applied a smart finish to fellow substitute Nadiem Amiri’s cross to break the Ivorians’ resistance in the 68th minute before scoring the winner to inflict a painful defeat on the African nation.
Undav had also scored a goal and provided two assists after coming off the bench in their win against Curacao.
Alongside Messi, he now boasts three goals in this mundial.
The dejected Ivorians can still progress from behind Germany with a win against World Cup debutants Curacao in their final game.
Emerse Fae’s side impressed with their energy and directness early on in Toronto, but it was Germany who carved out the clearer of chances.
The Germans had the ball in the back of net in the 22nd minute through Aleksandar Pavlovic but his header from a corner was ruled out for a foul on goalkeeper Fofana.
Cote d’Ivoire then took the lead as their exciting 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande found Manchester Utd’s Amad Diallo, whose close-range effort was blocked by Nathaniel Brown only for Kessie to convert the rebound.
Frustration For Germany
Germany’s frustration grew as Havertz had a goal disallowed for a foul on Emmanuel Agbadou by Jamal Musiala in the build-up while an unmarked Christ Inao Oulai and Kessie spurned chances to double the Ivorians’ lead.
Those misses ultimately proved costly as they were undone by the injury-time winner from Undav.
Fofana had kept out efforts from Brown and Amiri late on but there was nothing he could do as Undav expertly trapped a pass from Nmecha and slotted past the goalkeeper on the turn to break the Ivorian hearts in the dying seconds.
Nagelsmann’s Inspired Changes Rescue Germany
Germany put on a show in their opener as they delivered a thrashing of Curacao for the biggest win of the opening round.
But an exciting Cote d’Ivoire side, replete with confidence from the late victory against Ecuador, posed an altogether different challenge.
Diomande, linked with a move to Liverpool, showcased his pace and raw ability on the left flank for the Ivorians, while Manchester United winger Amad, Kessie and 20-year-old Oulai all caused problems for the German defence that has now kept just one clean sheet in its past six matches.
Ultimately though, Germany were rescued by the quality of their substitutes.
With his side trailing 1-0, Nagelsmann made a triple change in the 60th minute, bringing on Jamie Leweling, Amiri and Undav – with the latter duo combining for the equaliser only eight minutes later.
Undav then struck a second to take his tally to nine goals in just 11 appearances for Germany and make his case for a starting spot again, helping his side put embarrassing group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022 behind them.
Cote d’Ivoire, meanwhile, can take a lot of heart from their performance despite the last-gasp defeat.
What Next For These Teams?
Germany will wrap up their group stage campaign against Ecuador in New Jersey on Thursday, 25 June while Cote d’Ivoire take on Curacao in Philadelphia at the same time.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Nmecha screams with joy after a goal.
